


Tanabata

by LadyStine



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Complete, Cute, Dedicated to Leo's birthday, Fireworks, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Happy, Humor, Leo and Takumi wear yukatas, Leo fails at festival games, M/M, Tanabata, festival games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-31 04:18:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15111656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyStine/pseuds/LadyStine
Summary: The Nohrian royal family comes to Hoshido to celebrate Tanabata. Oboro makes custom yukatas for everyone to enjoy the celebration. Leo and Takumi have a nice day together at the festival. Once they are alone, Takumi explains the purpose of Tanabata to Leo and it reminds them of how their relationship is.For those that don’t know, Tanabata is on July 7th, and it is known as the Star Festival. It is supposed to celebrate the love between Orihime and Hikoboshi (two heavily deities) who are married but can only meet once a year. People celebrate this festival by writing wishes on small pieces of paper and hanging them on special wish trees.This work is dedicated to Leo's birthday: June 30th.





	1. Looking Good

On the day of Tanabata, Hoshido is bursting with excitement. The streets are filled with various venders and decorated with colorful paper tassels. In honor of their strong alliance and growing friendship, Hoshido has invited the Nohrian royal family to join them in celebrating Tanabata. The Hoshidan and Nohrian royal families are now getting ready to join the festivities with the townspeople.

“Let me just tie the back of this obi for you…. And done!” Oboro grins as she finishes helping Elise into her custom-made yukata, “You look absolutely adorable Princess Elise!” 

Elise’s yukata is black with clusters of large blush pink and white roses scattered throughout the fabric. The green leaves of the flowers frame them. There are also faint outlines of large lilies in a metallic gold. On the back of her yukata, the Nohrian emblem is embroidered in gold thread. Her yukata is all tied off with a shimmery ultra violet obi. Oboro has also tied some decorative pink and gold strings around the middle of her obi.

“Thank you Oboro!” Elise smiles, looking at her reflection in the mirror, “You’re super talented! I don’t know how you did it, but you captured my Nohrian princess vibes perfectly. I’ll actually bend in with you guys!” She gives Oboro a big hug.

Oboro blushes, smiling, “Aww you’re welcome. Anything for one of my best friends, right? Besides my lord would be amiss if I allowed his boyfriend’s little sister to wear anything but my finest work. “

“Heehee, but Takumi has nothing to worry about. You’re a fashion guru! He’s so lucky to have such a talented retainer.” Elise twirls around looking at the designs in the mirror. “I can’t wait to show everyone my new outfit! I also can’t wait to see what you made for everyone else. How did you make all these new outfits in such a short time?”

“That’s a tailor’s secret.” Oboro winks, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go check on your siblings to make sure their yukatas have been fitted properly.”

“Okay! I was actually thinking about going to visit with Sakura once my fitting was done!” Elise skips out of the room happily. “Oh Sakura!”

Oboro shakes her head, smiling. She follows Elise out of the room and heads down to Takumi’s room. She can hear Takumi and Leo speaking to each other from inside. She taps lightly on the screen door, “Milord, may I come in? I want to be sure Prince Leo is looking his best for today’s festival.”

“Sure, come on in. Your timing couldn’t be better, Oboro.” Takumi says from within his room.

Oboro slides the door open and sees that Takumi has helped Leo into the yukata she made for him. Takumi is already dressed and ‘Oboro approved’ from earlier in the day. Takumi’s yukata is indigo blue with two thin cream colored vertical stripes every few inches. His obi is red with horizontal deep red stripes. On the back of his yukata, the Hoshidan emblem is embroidered in gold thread. 

Oboro smiles at her handiwork. Then she looks over at Leo. Leo’s yukata is deep purple with thick vertical black stripes down each side of his chest and one on each sleeve. Within the black stripe there are three skinny golden stripes. His obi is gold with a pattern like the one on Brynhildr’s cover in black going across the top of it. The back of his yukata has the Nohrian emblem embroidered on it in gold thread. 

Oboro smirks in satisfaction with her design choices, “I knew that deep shade of purple would look great on you Prince Leo. It goes so well with the blue I used on Lord Takumi’s yukata.”

Takumi grins, “I must say, you really outdid yourself this time! Leo looks amazing in this. He looks like real Hoshidan royalty.” Leo blushes a bit.

“I’m glad to hear that you’re pleased with my work.” She beams at the compliment. “I took a lot from what you told me about him to make this. After all, your boyfriend deserves the best.”

Takumi blushes. Leo smiles, cheeks still a bit red, “Thank you for making me this outfit, Oboro. It’s very comfortable and easy to move in.”

“Of course! I enjoyed the challenge. It was fun working with different shades of purple, black, and gold. I don’t normally get to work with such a dark color pallet, considering that all the clothes I tailor for the Hoshidan royal family are on the warmer side. Well, except for Lord Takumi.” She looks over at Takumi, “He likes blue.”

Leo laughs lightly. Takumi flusters a bit, “What? Red is too flashy for me.”

Leo smiles, “That’s alright. You always did stand out from the rest of your family. Following the beat of your own drum.”

“Hey…” Takumi frowns a bit.

“I say that as a good thing! Trust me!” Leo wraps an arm around him playfully, grinning at him. “That’s part of what makes you so fascinating to me.” Takumi blushes red.

Oboro smiles, “Prince Leo is right. You should take pride in your individuality! Hinata and I think you’re really cool because of it and are proud to serve you.” She steps into the room, “Now if you’ll just give me a moment, I need to make sure that everything is laying properly on Prince Leo’s yukata.”

Leo lets go of Takumi so Oboro can do her inspection. She circles him, eyeing all the details. She straightens out the front part of the yukata and smooths out the back. “There! It’s perfect!” Oboro smiles at them both, “Alright, my work here is done. I’ll see you boys at the festival.” She leaves them and closes the screen door on her way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wrote most this story back in May, but it was too soon to post it. So, I waited until it was closer to Tanabata to share it with you guys! Plus Tanabata is close to Leo's birthday so that worked out nicely.
> 
> Also, this story was partially inspired by the support conversation between Oboro and Elise in Fire Emblem Warriors. Elise mentions to Oboro that she would love to see her whole family wearing kimonos, after Oboro states that she was going to make one for Elise. AND it was also inspired by the fanarts I’ve seen of Leo and Takumi in yukatas at festivals.
> 
> To watch the support conversation go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecb4ZTcuecQ
> 
> The inspiration for Elise, Takumi, and Leo's yukata's was found on Google Images and Amazon. I found patterns that practically fit them perfectly and tweaked the colors and some of the existing designs.


	2. Festival Games

Takumi and Leo were enjoying some quiet time to themselves at the Hoshidan Tanabata festival. They had done a through walk-through of all the food venders, shops, and games; and they were now backtracking to go to the stalls that interested them most. On their way to the takoyaki vender, they spot Elise and Sakura at the goldfish scoop stand. Elise is getting frustrated, while Sakura is trying to show her the ropes of how to play the game.

“You have do it gently. See?” Sakura smiles as she scoops up her second goldfish. “If you do it too hard the paper will rip.”

“Yeah but I tried that, and the paper got too soggy.” Elise pouts, “This game is hard!” She notices Leo and Takumi out of the corner of her eye. Elise pops up and goes over to them, “Hey Leo! Can you try to win me a goldfish? Pleeeeaaase?” She gives him puppy dog eyes.

Leo blinks, a bit confused. “Huh?”

“The goldfish scoop game. Over there!” She points, “If you scoop up a goldfish without breaking your paper you get to keep it. I wanna take one home!”

Leo crosses his arms, “Then do it yourself.”

“I tried! It’s really hard!” she sulks. 

Takumi laughs softly as Leo sighs, shaking his head.

Sakura goes over to them. “Oh, hey big brother and Prince Leo.” She smiles, “Glad to see you two enjoying yourselves.” She tugs lightly on Elise’s sleeve. “Let’s leave them be, I can give you one of mine. I won two of them after all.”

“Really? Yay!” Elise grins, “Thank you Sakura! Our goldfish will be best friends!”

“There, you have one now.” Leo frowns, “So, can I please get back to my date?”

“But Leo...” Takumi hugs one of his arms, “What if I want you to win me one?” He looks up at him with cute pleading eyes. “Please?”

“Aww Leo! Win one for your boyfriend!” Elise teases lightly.

Leo blushes, “Fine. But only because you asked me, Takumi.” 

Takumi smiles, and hugs his arm tighter, “Thank you dear.” Leo blush deepens.

Sakura giggles, “C’mon Elise, let’s go check out some of the other games. We should let the two of them enjoy their date.”

“Okay!” Elise smiles at them, “Have fun you guys!” She walks off with Sakura and disappears into the mass of people.

Leo and Takumi walk over to the stand. Leo looks down at the fish, “So, how exactly do you play this?”

“I can teach you how.” Takumi kneels down in front of the fish tank.

“If you know how to do this, then why do you want me to win you one?” Leo squats down next to him, frowning a bit.

“Because the goldfish will be more special if it’s from you.” Takumi bluntly replies, “Duh.”

Leo wasn’t expecting such a direct answer. He gets a dumbfounded look on his face as his cheeks flush red, “Oh.” 

Takumi smiles, finding his reaction endearing. He pays the vender and gets 10 scoopers. Takumi rolls up his sleeves and holds the paper scooper above the water with his right hand, and a fish bowl in his left. “Okay Leo, watch and learn. The trick is to move fast, but not too fast or the paper will tear. You also want to go for the fish closest to the top of the water, so you don’t have to dig as deep to catch them.”

Leo pays close attention as he watches Takumi quickly move the paper scooper into the water and toss one of the goldfish into the bowl. “Seems simple enough.”

“It is simple.” Takumi hands Leo a fresh scooper, “But it’s difficult to do. I’ve had years of practice playing these festival games.” Takumi beams proudly. “I’m curious to see how well you’ll do on your first try.” He sets the bowl down with the fish swimming in it to his side. Takumi smirks at him, “So, you think you can win me one?” 

Leo grins, “Of course. After observing your technique, I should have a goldfish for you within a few tries.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” Takumi smiles.

Leo looks down at the tank and does his best to mimic Takumi’s pre-fishing stance. The moment he puts the scoop in the water it, the paper breaks. Leo frowns. “This is some pretty thin paper huh?” He grabs another scooper and tries again. The same thing happens. After 6 more failed attempts, Leo is starting to get frustrated. “I can see why Elise was having trouble with this game. It’s impossible!”

Takumi laughs, “No it’s not. I said it was difficult to do, not impossible. Plus, you just saw me do it.”

“Yeah, but that’s because it’s like you said. You’ve been doing this for years. I’ll be here all night trying to catch you one.” Leo picks up the last scooper from the set Takumi bought.

“No, you won’t. Your angling was off, and you were being a tad too aggressive. That’s why the paper kept ripping.” Takumi scoots behind him and peeks over his shoulder. He grabs Leo’s hand with the scooper in it and guides it into the correct angle. Leo’s cheeks flush. “This should help you catch one now.” He lets go of his hand and squats beside him. Takumi watches him with an encouraging smile, “Try again.”

Leo nods, and aims for the goldfish closest to the water’s surface. He quickly moves the scooper and lightly taps the fish up into the bowl. He gasps, “Hey, I did it!”

Takumi grins, “See? I told you could do it.”

Leo smirks and hands Takumi the bowl, “Here you go! One goldfish, as per your request.”

“Thank you!” Takumi smiles as he takes it. “I will think of you every time I look at it.” He picks up the goldfish he caught and hands the bowl to Leo. “You can have this one.”

Leo takes it. “Thanks.” He smiles back at Takumi and laughs lightly, “I wasn’t expecting to bring home a fish. Let along carry one around with me on our date.”

Takumi chuckles softly, “We can bring our goldfish back to my room and then continue walking around.” He stands up and offers a hand to Leo. “I’ll put mine on one of my bookshelves and we can put yours on my dresser.”

Leo takes Takumi’s hand and gets up. “Alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have never played the goldfish scoop game, but in high school I attended a Japanese festival where we played the balloon scoop game. It was really hard. I can imagine the goldfish one being so much more difficult since they are moving. I'd probably fail epically too. 
> 
> Also Elise and Sakura's goldfish are now BFFs. When my best friend read this chapter over she said she could totally picture Elise bringing her goldfish on visits with Sakura.


	3. Making Wishes

After bringing the goldfish to Takumi’s bedroom, the two enjoy the rest of the day together. They try out various festival foods and participate in the taiko drum dance with their siblings and retainers. They play a few more games and wander around the festival grounds chatting with each other. Before they know it, it’s almost sunset. Takumi then tells Leo that there is one more thing they must do before the festival is over.

“Let me make sure I’m hearing you correctly. We have to write out wishes on paper…. And then tie them to a tree?” Leo repeats, not entirely getting the point.

“Mmhm. I know it sounds weird, but it’s a tradition to do so.” Takumi smiles. “You can write out as many wishes as you want. Think of it as a prayer that’s floating out into the wind.”

“Well that was cheesy...” Leo teases lightly as Takumi frowns a bit, “But it was also cute.” He smiles at Takumi and looks up at the wishes hanging on the trees around them. “So, what kind of wish are we supposed to write?” 

“They can be about anything. Good luck, general well-being, dreams for one’s future, love…” Takumi blushes a bit at that last one.

“Interesting.” Leo blushes a bit. “Where do we get the special paper to write these wishes on?”

“I believe that Orochi is running a stand that is giving them out. We passed it on the way back to the castle.”

“Alright then, let’s go find her.”

The two of them wander around for a bit until they spot Orochi’s bright purple hair in the distance. She has a small crowd around her stand. Takumi and Leo head over and can hear her giving people their fortunes as they get closer. They also notice Kagero sitting next to her at the table, painting something that looks fairly ominous. 

Orochi sees the two of them and stands up after finishing a person’s fortune. “Hey boys! How nice of you to visit little old Orochi.” She sits back down as they get to her stand. “I’ve been expecting you.”

Kagero looks up from her painting and sees them. She bows slightly, “Good to see you Lord Takumi and Prince Leo.”

“Yes, it’s good to see you to Kagero.” Takumi looks down at her painting, he can’t quite make out what it is she’s trying to depict. “What are you working on there? Is it a visual wish?”

“I thought you were only supposed to write them out?” Leo asks confused.

“You can do both. Most people just write them though.” Takumi quickly answers.

“It’s not a wish painting. I’m updating some of Orochi’s fortune cards.” Kagero states.

Orochi smiles, “Kagero’s paintings are the best! The cards she makes for me tell the best fortunes.”

Kagero smiles, “You’re too kind Orochi.” She goes back to working.

“I see…” Takumi comments, not sure what else to say to that.

“So, what can I do for you boys? Did you want me to tell your love fortune?” Orochi teases.

Takumi blushes, “No, that’s ok. I thought you were handing out the paper for people to write wishes on. Are you not doing that anymore?” He glances over the table for the paper. 

“No need to worry. I’m still doing that.” Orochi takes out some sheets of paper from under the table. “But I’m also giving out fortunes.” She grins, “You see, it helps people decide on what they should wish for. Plus, some people just can’t resist a premonition of their future!” 

Takumi frowns, “But what if they already know what they want to wish for? Wouldn’t that mislead them somehow?”

“They don’t have to get a fortune reading.” Orochi taps on the table at bit annoyed, “Also, my premonitions are never wrong. I never give misleading guidance. You should know that better than anyone.” Kagero pauses in her painting to see how this pans out.

“I didn’t mean it like that! I’m sorry!” Takumi bites his lower lip. “I meant to say that it might change their initial wish. I would never question your abilities as a diviner!”

“Good!” Orochi grins.

“Um, so can we have the paper?” Leo asks feeling a bit awkward.

“Just the paper?” Orochi eyes them both, “Are you SURE you don’t want one of my love fortunes? I foresee something very important.”

“No thank you, just the paper is fine.” Takumi says quickly “And a brush and ink to write on them.”

“Aww alright.” She hands them several strips of pre-strung paper, two brushes, and a small inked block. “You can use the empty table across from mine to write your wishes. Be sure to bring back the brushes and the ink when you’re done.”

Leo takes the paper, “We will.”

Takumi takes the brushes and the ink block, “Thank you Orochi.” The two of them head over to the table and set the supplies down. “Let’s write these out before it’s sunset. It will be harder to find a nice place to hang them once it’s dark.” He hands Leo a brush.

Leo takes it. “How am I supposed to write with this? I normally use feathers or ink dip pens.”

“Oh, right.” Takumi frowns, “Well the bristles on this brush are very fine. You should be able to carefully paint your words onto the paper. Most wishes aren’t more than a sentence or two anyway.”

Leo nods, “Ok. I’ll try.”

Takumi takes one of the papers and starts to write out his first wish. Leo watches him for a moment and then takes one of the papers too. He just stares at it for a moment, not sure what to say. He thinks back to what Takumi said about the different types of wishes. Leo gets an idea and starts to mark up his paper. When they are finished, Takumi has written 4 wishes, and Leo wrote out 2.

Takumi looks over at Leo, “Are you done?”

Leo nods. “Yes. I’m ready to hang these somewhere.”

Takumi smiles. He picks up the un-used paper, their brushes, and the ink block carefully, “Watch our papers while I give these back to Orochi, and then we can find a special spot to hang them.” He turns to walk over there.

“Okay.” Leo glances over at Takumi’s wishes.

“And don’t read what I wrote!” Takumi shouts back over at Leo as if he knew he was going to do that. Leo instantly looks away, honoring his boyfriend’s request. Takumi comes back after giving Orochi the supplies. “Did you look?”

“Don’t worry I didn’t.”

“Good.” Takumi smiles. He picks up his wishes. “Let’s go hang these up!”

Leo carefully picks his up too. “Where to?”

“Hmm.” Takumi thinks for a moment, “Oh! We can hang them up by the castle. I’m sure my siblings and yours put their wishes near there.”

“Sounds good to me.” Leo follows Takumi over to the smaller trees in front of the castle. He glances at some of the wishes already on the tree and spots Elise’s handwriting. “Hey you were right. This wish belongs to Elise, which means Sakura’s is probably here somewhere.”

“Then we will put ours on this tree too.” Takumi starts to hang his wishes onto the tree. Leo follows his example. Takumi smiles when they are both done putting their wishes on the tree. He watches them all blow in the wind. “Now all of our wishes are together. I hope they all come true.”

Leo takes Takumi’s hand and squeezes it, “I’m sure they will.”

 

Takumi’s wishes read:  
_“I pray for my family and friends’ continued well-being.”_  
“I hope that Hoshido’s friendship with Nohr stays strong.”  
“I would like to partake in a Nohrian festival with Leo and his family.”  
“I hope that Leo and I will get to see each other more often and that our love continues to grow. He is very precious to me.” 

Leo’s wishes read:  
_“I hope that Takumi and I stay together for a long time.”_  
“I hope that I will get to experience and learn new things about Hoshidan culture with Takumi.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved Orochi and Kagero's support conversations from Birthright so I added that in here.
> 
> If you wanna watch their support go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YZJPIjm2RM
> 
> I can also picture Leo struggling to write with a brush lol.


	4. A Legendary Love Story

After dark, the two lay down next to each other on a hill of grass and enjoy each other’s company as they wait for the fireworks to start.

“I’ve been wondering for a while now…” Leo says thinking aloud to Takumi, “What exactly are we supposed to be celebrating at this festival? You guys called it Tanabata right?”

“Yes, that’s right. We call it Tanabata or loosely translated, the Star Festival. It’s supposed to celebrate the legendary love story between two heavily star beings, Orihime and Hikoboshi. Orihime is supposed to represent the star Vega, and Hikoboshi is supposed to be the star Altair. Tanabata is the only day during the year that the two of them can cross the Milky Way and be together.” Takumi explains.

Leo listens as Takumi continues,” Orihime was a cloth weaver, and Hikoboshi was a cowherder. Orihime would get lonely spending her days making clothes, so her father arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi. When the two met, they fell in love and they got they married. The two of them were so much in love that they spent all their time together and neglected their duties. Enraged by the fact the two lovers were not doing their jobs, Orihime’s father, the emperor of the heavens, separated the two of them to different ends of the galaxy. Orihime begged her father to let them be together. So, her father allowed for her to see her husband for one day, once a year. On the day Orihime was supposed to see her husband, there was no bridge to cross the Milky Way to his star system. She was devastated by this and started to cry. Small creatures formed a bridge for her to cross and she was able to see him. However, if it rains on that day, the bridge cannot be formed and the two have to wait an entire year before meeting again.”

“I see. So that’s what we are celebrating huh?” Leo comments, “It seems a bit extreme to me. Getting married after you just met. Abandoning your responsibilities because your blinded by love. Then only being with that person once a year?”

“It’s only a story Leo...” Takumi smiles, looking up at the stars, “And in a way, it kinda reminds me of us.”

“How so?” Leo looks over at him. “We aren’t heavily beings that travel across stars.”

“Well, no we aren’t... But we are princes from two totally different kingdoms with dragon’s blood flowing through our veins. And we both wield divine, heavenly weapons… So, there is that.”

“That is true.”

“And we only get to see each other every couple of months. Plus, when we are together, I don’t want to do anything else but spend time with you.” Takumi blushes, and glances over at Leo, “We were also both loners before we were together. And now we’re not lonely anymore because we have each other.”

Leo blushes, “I see… Though we aren’t as bad as the people from the story. We still get things done.”

“I know, but it doesn’t mean we want to though. Right?” Takumi smiles at him, cheeks flushed.

“I suppose so…” Leo smiles back. “So, what does writing wishes on paper have to do with the love story? I’ve been to a few of these Hoshidan festivals with you, but this is the only one where we’ve done that.”

Takumi thinks for a moment. “You know…” He laughs lightly, shrugging his shoulders, “I have no idea.”

“Seriously?” Leo asks, laughing a bit.

“Yeah. I never really gave thought as to why we only write wishes on Tanabata. I just did it because that’s what you do on this holiday.” Takumi smiles, “Though if I had to guess, I would say that we write wishes because we want to find happiness in our lives like the two lovers did.”

Leo nods, “That makes sense. Though if that’s the case, then I didn’t need to wish for anything.”

“What do you mean? You wrote out two wishes…” Takumi looks at him confused.

Leo chuckles, and smiles softly at Takumi, “I already have that kind of happiness with you!” He scoots closer to Takumi and wraps his arm around him. “I don’t need to wish for it if I already have it.”

“Oh…” Takumi blushes. “Then what did you wish for?”

“Hey now, you didn’t share what you wished for with me.” Leo teases lightly. “Also wishes don’t come true if you tell them.”

“Yeah… Ok. Fine…” Takumi pouts playfully, “I guess we’ll both just have to wait and see if our wishes come true.”

Leo smiles at him, holding him close. “I guess we will…”

Takumi smiles, and gets comfortable in Leo’s arms. Their attention is turned to the sky when they hear the first of the fireworks shoot up into the sky. The two lay comfortably on the grass and watch the fireworks. In the nearby distance they can hear Elise and Sakura ooh-ing and aah-ing at the explosive colors in the sky. Leo sighs happily and Takumi laughs lightly.

Today had been a nice. Much like the story of Tanabata, both kingdoms were finally able to meet up in peace and enjoy each other’s company. Thankfully they didn’t have to wait until next year to do it again. Leo and Takumi were grateful for that.

\- THE END - 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I complied a basic summary of the legend behind Tanabata using the following sites:  
> http://www.japan-suite.com/blog/2014/7/6/tanabata-story-of-two-star-crossed-lovers   
> https://www.nippon.com/en/features/jg00097/   
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanabata 
> 
> I wanted to be sure my facts were right.
> 
> Also hooray for a brief cultural lesson on Japan while indulging in LeoKumi fics! :3


End file.
